BKC Essex

British Kitesurfing Championships- Essex

Second stop of the British Kitesurfing Championships was held in sunny Southend in Essex! Once again, there was a great turn out with around 50 competitors all ready to give it their all! The sun beaming, slightly offshore wind and low tide approaching, it meant we could still get out and use the wind we had!

First up the pro men and women’s first rounds got underway and even with the tricky winds, it was still awe-inspiring to watch! As the day went on the wind started to drop off making it tricky to get all the heats completed, so the guys did a great job of running the first rounds, and as we were blessed with a solid forecast for the Sunday, we would continue the rest then.

Evening entertainment was hosted by Essex Kite Park who did a spectacular job of supplying great food, music and good vibes! It was a great chance to catch up with everyone and wind down before a busy day Sunday.

Sunday morning greeted us with more glorious sunshine, however sunny Southend did not remain so sunny! After our riders briefing, the weather took a turn for the worse! The wind picked up, but so did the rain. The juniors kicked things off with their ‘sudden win mega challenge’ with all the boys showing off their skills they’d been practising with Jo Wilson, who proudly watched over and supported them. Next to go were the amateur women’s who threw down their biggest and best tricks to lead to a strong 3 woman final in the progressive wind. Amateur men’s and Masters categories started off, but were then put on hold whilst the tide drained out, which gave us all a chance to warm up in the pub including the judges and marshals who did an amazing job despite being soaked by freezing rain!

After a few hours, the water came back to join us and we were able to commence the competition again. Amateurs and masters went huge with the strong winds throwing some huge kite loops and powered unhooked moves! The pro men and women rounds began with George Dufty and Jack Daykin battling to move through into the next round with both throwing big clean passes! Next up was the pro women’s and I was in against Holly Keenan. We both took our 7m’s but as we got out, the wind slightly dropped off making it tricky for us to get upwind to the competition zone, however we managed to make the best out of the wind we had and I managed to advance through to the semi finals. I then progressed through to the losers final where I only just missed out on a podium place but I was still super stoked to take 4th. The pro men’s final followed soon after with Shaun Murphy, Tom Bridge and George Dufty all putting on a show for the people of Southend!

A huge thank you to Jim, Rou, Mary, Essex Kitesurf Club, Simon Mudd and Richard Flindall for organising such an awesome competition, even if the weather was on back order! And another thank you to all the marshals who were incredibly helpful and stood out in the freezing rain all day to help us, you were amazing. Congratulations to all the competitiors! I’m really looking forward to Hunstanton and hope to see everyone there!